PNY screwed me

thisisit · Dec 30, 2003

A year and a half ago I bought myself a spanking new PNY GeForce4 Ti4600, from an online store at the common price of $400 (399.99 to be correct). I never overclocked this card, and never used it in a manner that would damage it. So a year and a half later (present time) my card went bad. It does not work anymore. Here's a <A HREF="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/besnikrukaj/" target="_new">screenshot</A> of what my PC looks like right now. So anyway I call our good friends and PNY for an RMA of some kind, since they have a "lifetime" replacement warranty. Guess what they tell me.
"Do you have a receipt?" they ask
No, I bought it a year and a half ago, I don't have any of those records" says I.
"Well then I'm sorry but our policy requires proof of purchase" says their supervisor.
And that was it. I argued and I argued but the same BS over and over. This is our "policy". So here I am, stuck with a video card that doesn't work, that is broken through no fault of my own, and for which I payed $400. I have done RMA for a P4 processor (I feel bad for that one cause the processor was fine and I wasted Intels time), and for a couple of motherboards in my lifetime and never have I come accross such a ridiculous policy where the warranty is void if you lose your receipt.
So I give today to you my friends a word of warning. NEVER BUY PNY PRODUCTS. If you will buy them, then take some duck tape and make sure you tape the receipt to the hardware real tight so you never lose it. As for me, I'll see them in hell before I give them another penny. That card wasn't even worth the $400. It had no fancy fans or accessories of any kind like those by other distributors. Oh well I guess I got to scrap some money together now.

P.S.
The video card is broken, please don't give me any replies such as check your drivers and other giberish. It's broken for good. It's a good thing I got an GeForce4 MX440 as a spare.

Vimp · Dec 31, 2003

Thats to bad. Its unfortunate that Creative Labs dosnt sell the normal video cards in North America anymore because I've had good dealings with them. I bought a Geforce 256 Pro(Annihilator Pro) from them when the Geforce cards were just coming out for $375 Canadian. Same card was selling for over $500 at places like Radioshack. Creative Labs has a 3 year warrenty on their cards so just over 2 years after buying my card the fan on it stopped spinning so with out a reciept they replaced my Geforce 256 Pro with a Geforce 2 GTS/Pro for free. That was a very nice upgrade I must say. This card is still running every new game well even if I do have to bring some of the settings down in some of the newest games.

thisisit · Dec 31, 2003

What makes so angry is the fact that they don't take responsibility for their defective product. You made this card and you are responsible for it regardless of how, or when it was bought. They promise a lot to people so they can cough up the dough, but once they have the dough it's.....well it's "policy" after that.

TheGreatGrapeApe · Dec 31, 2003

They may have been more fogiving had you been a registered owner (I always register big purchases). They do need to prove that somehow YOU did buy THAT card. There's enough scams going on out there to have burnt many companies many times over.
Unfortunately we can't see what would have happened if you did have the receipt, it would be interesting to see what they offered you as a replacement (FX5700, 5600, 5900non-ultra?), but I guess we'll never know.

Sorry things didn't work out for you, I would suggest one thing though for the future (something that I do), get a small rubbermaid (or similar) container and put every receipt and install cd, etc you ever get with the life of your system. Usually I hand it over to whomever gets my computer when I'm done with it, but it does make re-installations, warranty issues, etc. much easier. Even if you put it in the attic or garage it may turn out to be very handy (I've had to use mine for recovery issues 8 times since building my gaming rig last fall, and I've needed the warranty stuff twice [one mobo, one sound card])

Hopefully this is a good warning for others

Once again my sympathies to you on your loss.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) ! - RED GREEN GA to SK :evil:

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GeneticWeapon · Dec 31, 2003

PNY screwed me

You screwed yourself. PNY only warranties their cards for one season anyways. Their warranty say's lifetime, but it's a scam...The fine print says lifetime of the card on the market.

3DMark03
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coolsquirtle · Dec 31, 2003

like I've said many times before

PNY SUCKS ASS!!!!!!

and Grape if u'd be so kind, tell him what happened to me

RIP Block Heater....HELLO P4~~~~~
120% nVidia Fanboy
FX5700Ultra, the next Ti4200? seems so

tombance · Dec 31, 2003

If you wanted proof of purchase arent there still records kept by the online store that you bought it from. I know that if I want a receipt for something I bought off the net I just go to the place I bought it and print off one from there. Im pretty sure that would do for them if you explained the circumstances (you bought online and werent given a receipt).

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6752830" target="_new">Yay, I Finally broke the 12k barrier!!</A>

TheGreatGrapeApe · Dec 31, 2003

Yes, thisisit, you should know that PNY 'sucked' CoolS' 'A$$'.

Looking back at that screenshot I can't help but think that all of this could have been prevented by giving your computer a Measles shot. :lol:

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) ! - RED GREEN GA to SK :evil:

-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-

Zoron · Dec 31, 2003

couple of motherboards in my lifetime and never have I come accross such a ridiculous policy where the warranty is void if you lose your receipt.

That is VERY odd. Anytime I've requested an RMA for ANYTHING, I'm asked for an invoice or some other proof of purchase. For the most part, that IS your warranty. I hope you learned one valuable lesson from all of this:

Never throw away your receipt until the product is off warranty.

As it was said before, you screwed yourself... though not necessarily because you bought a PNY card, but because you didn't keep / print your receipt. Without some form of proof of purchase, they don't have any way of knowing you actually purchased the card. Yeah, it sucks... but that's the way it is. You can either accept it or whine about it... but it's becoming the only way of getting warranty service. I find it very unusual that you've never heard of this. After all, most stores require a receipt when you return merchandise... so it makes sense that for warranty purposes, you would need a receipt also. Otherwise, you could just arbitrarily make up a date of purchase (Yeah, I bought it last month... not two years ago... really...).

 If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it.

thisisit · Dec 31, 2003

As it was said before, you screwed yourself... though not necessarily because you bought a PNY card, but because you didn't keep / print your receipt. Without some form of proof of purchase, they don't have any way of knowing you actually purchased the card. Yeah, it sucks... but that's the way it is. You can either accept it or whine about it... but it's becoming the only way of getting warranty service. I find it very unusual that you've never heard of this. After all, most stores require a receipt when you return merchandise... so it makes sense that for warranty purposes, you would need a receipt also. Otherwise, you could just arbitrarily make up a date of purchase (Yeah, I bought it last month... not two years ago... really...).

As I mentioned before it mattered little who bought the card. There are many reasons why people might not have receipts. It might have been a gift, receipt has been lost, receipt has been used for rebate etc, etc. I know when i bought this I was in California at the time on vacation, so if i had bought it at a store and lost the receipt then how the hell would i find it again. That's not the case however cause the place I bought it from went bankrupt. Anyway.
The point is they MANUFACTURED this product. When you build something and sell it to people for $400 you have a great responsibility for it. If that product becomes defective because it was not build properly then it is your job to replace that. We're not talking a return here (that would require receipt) we're talking a replacement. You sold me something that was not good, and you need to make it up to me. You built it you take care of it.

True that some (most don't as far as I've dealt) places require you to keep a proof of purchase, but even if you have lost it, since it's been so long, they will find some way to make things better. This is all a moot point anyway. From carefully reading their warranty it does say
---Lifetime Replacement warranty does not cover items out of production if PNY no longer stocks them. (Lifetime is defined as the lifetime of the product on the market. Outdated technology is not covered by lifetime warranty if the item is no longer available on the common market as a new product.) ----
So since they have discontinued my card it's carrots up the a$$.

I had a problem with a Microsoft mouse once. I called them up told them it was broken and they said ok we'll send you a new one. Not only did they not ask for receipt, but they didn't even ask for me to send them the bad mouse back.
I've done a couple of RMAs for ABIT boards (I think ABIT boards aren't all that great, and they require some proof of purchase I think). Abit has the sweetest RMA, all electronic, you send it in you get a fixed one in a couple of days. Not a new one, but a fixed one that works. Same with Intel. These are companies who stand behind their products. (Please no MS flaming)

P.S.
Actually I do keep most of my receipts.

Zoron · Dec 31, 2003

PNY's warranty sucks... no doubt about it. Most other manufacturers offer 3 year warranties on their video cards. To buy a card at the end of a product cycle only to have it go off warranty because they've stopped manufacturing is ridiculous.

It's always better safe than sorry when it comes to receipts. When it comes to computer-related hardware, it is important to hang onto them. If giving the hardware as a gift, it's important that the giver keep the receipt should anything go wrong. I realize most people don't think of it, but horror stories such as this can be avoided if such care is taken.

Does it state anywhere in the warranty that proof of purchase is required? If not, then they don't have a leg to stand on and should honor your request. If they require proof of purchase it should be stated somewhere in their product literature.

 If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it.

TheGreatGrapeApe · Dec 31, 2003

Getting support without proof of purchase doesn't make good business sense. PNY's website makes the policy very clear which they likely included on some little piece of paper that came with the card that most people ignore in their haste to start gaming.

<A HREF="http://www.pny.com/support/warranty/?prod=verto" target="_new">Their site clearly states all this</A>.

If you ordered from them online you likely wouldn't have this problem. But with fly by night hardware stores that go out of business, as this one did, it's not surprising that policies have evolved this way.

And no MS does not stand behind their product and that is not a flame, as any enterprise level IT person and ask them about security support for W95 and W98 and NT legacy products, and the recent issue about patches costing more than they are worth despite service agreements, which we have MULTIPLE copies of.

In the end the old sayings fit best; Caveat Emptor.... Always Keep Your Receipts.... and, Learn From Your Mistakes.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) ! - RED GREEN GA to SK :evil:

-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-

TheGreatGrapeApe · Dec 31, 2003

Z, it is stated on their site (above), and probably in the fine print of the literature that came with their cards.

The Lifetime excuse is Crap, the Receipts issue is fairly standard. So if you buy their their FX5600Ultra is the warranty already voide due to the FX5700U, or will it be void the minute the next gen mid-level card hits the market? Is it their production run that matters, in which case it could be out of warranty before the replacement is actually on store shelves? :evil:

It's probably 'while there's equivalent stock in the wh0rehouse, err.. warehouse'. But it would be interesting that you just buy an older card as the last of stock at Best Buy (I still see the GF4ti on shelves at FS/Best Buy here in Canada; look <A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=8324&vpn=VCARD-TI4600" target="_new">NCIX is still selling them for $570CDN</A>), but the advertised warranty is in effect not a warranty since the line is now defunct. It's preferable to get a fixed term than some arbitrary determination as 'current' or 'obsolete'.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) ! - RED GREEN GA to SK :evil:

-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-

Crashman · Dec 31, 2003

YOu think that's bad? For asus you have to have the BOX THE MOTHERBOARD CAME IN!

Abit's making graphics cards now I hear. It's always been their policy that as long as the board has a manufacturing date less than 3 years old, they'll replace it even without a receipt or any proof of ownership. Of course the receipt can prove the board is even newer, if you keep it.

Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!
Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!

Crashman · Dec 31, 2003

Oh, and speaking of motherboards, Soyo requires a RECEIPT AND $15 SERVICE FEE, that's IF you can get an RMA.

Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!
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ksoth · Dec 31, 2003

My RMA situation with PNY was a good one. I bought a PNY Ti4200 card. About 1 year later, it went bad, so I sent it in and got a new one in a couple weeks. Then, about another year later, the replacement one went bad, so I called them up. I said I didn't have the reciept, but said that I had previously RMA'd it, so they said no problem and send the card in. This time it took about 6 weeks to get the replacement, as they said they were still waiting on it from the factory. Well, now I have a spare Ti4200 card just sitting around with no computer to put it in.

Overall, I don't think I'd buy another PNY product because I had 2 of them go bad within a year of getting them. That just doesn't say much for their quality. I mean, I still have a computer using a several year old Hercules brand GeForce256. Also, I didn't realize that the lifetime warranty was so restrictive, which makes it even worse.

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 "Trying is the first step towards failure."

TheGreatGrapeApe · Dec 31, 2003

Yeah, according to [H] the BFG warranties are "TRUE Lifetime Warranties" as they put it.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) ! - RED GREEN GA to SK :evil:

-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-

thisisit · Jan 1, 2004

I bought a PNY Ti4200 card. About 1 year later, it went bad, so I sent it in and got a new one in a couple weeks.

What kind of problem were you having. Was it similar to mine. After messing around with the card for a bit I've realized that if I bend and twist it a little it works fine for about 15 min. Works without drivers of course. If I try to put any kind of driver on it the system just restarts constantly. Feels almost as if some kind of connection on the card broke. Too bad ICs are not repairable (affordable repair I mean).

phial · Jan 1, 2004

Getting support without proof of purchase doesn't make good business sense

perhaps not, but that doesnt make it anymore honest

like Thisisit said, what if it was a present? what if i bought it for my little brother last yaer (how often do you give reciepts to people when you buy presents? i usually hide how much it costs actually) and I misplaced the receipt ? so that means a totally valid customer is s.o.l.?

yea i know .. .i used to fix computers and whenever we rma'd parts we needed some proof of purchase, but that was thru the company. shouldnt be so strict on a private purchse

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ksoth · Jan 1, 2004

The fan died, and the chip died because of it. It would work okay in normal usage, but after about a minute of any 3D apps, it would be really slow, then start to get all sorts of crazy visual effects, then it would eventually freeze. The same thing happened with the second one, the fan died. You'd think that they could avoid so many problems just shelling out an extra couple bucks per card for a quality ball-bearing fan...

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 "Trying is the first step towards failure."

dhlucke · Jan 1, 2004

---Lifetime Replacement warranty does not cover items out of production if PNY no longer stocks them. (Lifetime is defined as the lifetime of the product on the market. Outdated technology is not covered by lifetime warranty if the item is no longer available on the common market as a new product.) ----

That's the biggest scam I've seen lately. That's not your lifetime, the card's lifetime, or anythings lifetime. What a scam.

_________________________________________
12 bit... The way games are meant to be played!

endyen · Jan 1, 2004

Do you know anyone who works at a computer store? I have had occassion to get a friend to rma a hdd or two when I lost my receipt.

ytoledano · Jan 1, 2004

Hey, I had a similar visual "effect" on my screen with my bad GigaCube Radeon9600Pro, only it was blue instead of pink. I RMAd it no prob and they sent me a new one, though.

Got a nice overclocked overvolted system to keep you warm at night? That's great. Guess I'll have to settle for a woman...

Ris3n_Da3mon · Jan 1, 2004

---Lifetime Replacement warranty does not cover items out of production if PNY no longer stocks them. (Lifetime is defined as the lifetime of the product on the market. Outdated technology is not covered by lifetime warranty if the item is no longer available on the common market as a new product.) ----

If you can prove that you can still get it as a new product on the market......Like find some sites that still sell it as new, I'm sure there are plenty of sites that still have it in inventory.

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thisisit · Jan 1, 2004

If you can prove that you can still get it as a new product on the market......Like find some sites that still sell it as new, I'm sure there are plenty of sites that still have it in inventory.

Yeah but I still don't have the receipt. Don't you see, it's a fail safe system of screwing you. It's totally bulletproof.

I've been having to use that MX440 card since the good one broke. Man this card is a piece of garbage. But then again what can you expect for $40.
Are there any diagnostic programs that would be able to tell me what's wrong with my card. I mean obviously they can't tell me which part of the hardware is not functioning, but they could say this feature doesn't seem to be working properly. Or something....something....I'm still in denial. I can't believe it broke. That card was my everything. I could go online and brag about it to everyone. "What's that you got?...ti4200....yeah I got ti4600" Now I'm stuck with nothing. What a crummy way to bring in the new year.

PNY screwed me

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